Fiber-filled pillow

ABSTRACT

A pillow casing having at least a majority of the fibers enclosed therein in parallel relation. The fibers are substantially parallel to the direction of the force applied by the user so that the pillow or other fiber-filled article has a high degree of resiliency and fluffability.

1 51 Sept. 16, 1975 United States Patent 1191 Willis et al.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FIBER-FILLED PILLOW Inventors: Arnold L. Willis, Chicago; Harold m mm bw n vuo GTT 3 3 677 999 1 H 367 0023 62 7 7 333 Wortman, Morton Grove, both of [73] Assignee: CWW Research and Development Company, Elkgrove Village, Ill.

July 6, 1973 Primary Examiner Philip Dier Attorney, Agent, or FirmDressler, Goldsmith, Clement & Gordon, Ltd.

[22] Filed:

Appl. No.: 377,073

[57] ABSTRACT A pillow casing having at least a majority of the fibers [52] US. Cl. 5/337; 5/355; 161/69;

161/142; 161/169 B32b 5/12; DO4h 1/00; 1332b 3/18;

enclosed therein in parallel relation. The fibers are [51] Int. Cl.......

substantially parallel to the direction of the force a plied by the user so that the pillow or other fiber-filled article has a high degree of resiliency and fluffability.

[58] Field of Search 2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures F IBER-FILLED PILLOW The present invention relates generally to pillows and other fiber-filled articles such as cushions and the like.

Current fiber-filled articles, while generally satisfactory, have a certain lack of stability and durability after continuous use. Essentially, a fiber-filled article,'such as a pillow, made in the present conventional manner, does not retain its fluffy or spongy characteristics over an extended period of use. This has resulted in public dissatisfaction with pillows and other fiber-filled articles currently on the market. It may be readily appreciated that if it is possible to greatly improve the bulk and durability of fiber-filled articles, a long felt need will have been satisfied.

One of the reasons for the lack of fiuffability" of pi]- lows made under current practices is the arrangement of the assemblage of fibers within the pillow casing or ticking. Currently, a typical assemblage of fibers within a pillow casing is composed of numerous superimposed layers of a fibrous web which has been rolled into a substantially cylindrical shape. This assemblage of fibers is known in the art as a batt.

Many observations may be made with respect to a pillow or other fiber-filled article with this type of fiber assemblage. The folded, superimposed layers of fibrous web which forms the batt results in the fibers tending to lie in horizontal planes relative to the force applied by the user. That is to say, the fibers are randomly oriented in planes, which tend to matt or felt together during use, with the result that the pillow reduces in size and eventually after an extended period of use looses its fluffy and spongy characterictics.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to pillows and other fiber-filled articles wherein at least a majority of the fibers lie parallel to the direction of the force applied by the user.

More particularly, the pillow or other fiber-filled article consists of an air-penetrable casing enclosing a fiber assemblage wherein at least a majority of the fibers are substantially perpendicular to the facing walls of the casing. This orientation of the fibers gives a high order of recovery, whereby the pillow has the characteristics of a down pillow and reduces the amount of felting and matting between fibers. This results in a greater recovery and is more attractive, efficient and usable than the current conventional pillow.

Another advantage of a pillow having its fibers in this new and novel assemblage is that it permits the pillow to be compressed to one-half to one-third its normal size for ease of shipping and storage in inventory. Unlike compressed batt formed pillows, which tend to matt and felt even before use by the consumer, the orientation of the fibers permits the pillow to be compressed end to end for storage and shipping which results in a minimum amount of felting and matting.

Another advantage of the invention is that the pillow will retain its original shape and provide maximum cushioning and insulating properties and will withstand thorough cleaning without loss of mechanical or esthetic properties. These characteristics must be maintained through many cycles of compression and fluffing" during long periods of use arid repeated washings.

Various uncrimped and crimped fibers can be used, such as polyethylene terephthalate 2 inch crimped fibers. It is recognized that the crimping of the fibers adds tothe fluffability and resiliency of the finished article referred to above. Continuous filament tow made fromsynthetic fibers may also be used in the construction of the pillow.

Many other fibers of suitable length may also be utilized to accomplish the desired result of having at least a majority of the fibers of the finished article lying parallel to the direction of the force applied by the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 of the drawings discloses a perspective view of a rectangular pillow constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 on FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a pillow having a modified assemblage of fibers; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 on FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail a preferred embodiment and modifications thereof, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments illustrated.

Pillow 10 shown in FIG. 1 consists of a pillow casing or ticking l2 enclosing an assemblage of fibers 14 which are arranged so that substantially all of the fibers 16 of assemblage l4 lie parallel to the direction of force F being applied by the user. This arrangement of fibers creates the desired fiuffy and resilient characteristics.

In particular, casing 12 consists of an upper and a lower sheet 18 and 20, respectively, of an airpenetrable material with their peripheral edges joined by any suitable means such as by sewing. While the easing illustrated in this embodiment consists of two rectangular sheets of material which results in a pillow having a generally elliptical cross-section (FIG. 2), it is recognized that various configurations of pillow casings may be utilized to form the finished article without departing from the spirit of the invention.

As best shown in FIG. 2, fiber assemblage 14 has substantially all of fibers 16 in parallel relation with each other. In the illustrated embodiment, the fibers are 2 inches in length which, except for the tapered ends 22, is substantially less than the thickness of pillow 10. Thus, the thickness of fiber assemblage 14 is achieved by stacking numerous layers of substantially parallel fibers end to end.

The relationship between fibers 16 of assemblage l4 and upper and lower sheets 18 and 20, respectively, is best illustrated in FIG. 2. Except for fibers 16 located close to tapered edges 22, the vast majority of fibers 16 are substantially perpendicular to sheets 18 and 20. In other words, substantially all of fibers 16 are perpendicular to the major axis of the elliptical cross-section of pillow 10 as illustrated in FIG. 2. When pillow 10 is placed in a conventional manner on a surface such as a mattress (not shown), the direction of force applied by the user on upper sheet 18 or lower sheet 20 is substantially parallel to fibers 16.

It may be desirable to varythe degree of fluffability and resiliency of the finished fiber-filled article. This may be accomplished by, for example, varying the density of fibers 16 within assemblage 14. A relatively low density of fibers creates a rather soft pillow which decreases the level of resiliency and fiuffability. The more compacted the fibers are, the greater the degree of firmness while maintaining a high level of resiliency and fluffability.

These characteristics may also be altered by using various types of fibers. The use of crimped fibers, such as polyethylene terephthalate, contributes to the resiliency of the pillow. The orientation of crimped fibers in parallel relation can still be achieved to reduce felting and matting.

It might be possible under some methods of manufac ture to produce a pillow or other fiber-filled article wherein only a majority of the fibers of the pillow lie parallel to the direction of the force applied by the user. Even in such an article, a high degree of resiliency and fluffability can be obtained as compared to a conventional pillow containing a batt assemblage of fibers. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the majority of fibers 16 in assemblage 14 (shown as being crimped fibers in this embodiment) lie in the desired direction. Felting and matting are still reduced since substantially all the fibers lie in a co-planar relationship with each other (as best illustrated in FIG. 4). v

Thus it will be seen from the above description that the present invention provides a simple and effective manner for producing a pillow having a high fluffable and resilient character. In addition, the modified embodiments of the present invention provide a pillow having a varying degree of fluffability and resiliency.

With the principles disclosed in the present invention, there are many variations which could be made to make the pillow more functional or more esthetically pleasing. While the pillow has been illustrated and described as being a rectangular configuration having a generally elliptical cross-section, various other configurations may be constructed without the departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the peripheral edge of the pillow may take the form of a trapezoid or may be circular while still maintaining at'least a majority of all the fibers parallel to the direction of the force applied by the user.

It may also be desirable to taper the pillow by varying the thickness of the casing. For example, it may be desirable to produce a wedge-shaped pillow. While a pillow has been illustrated and described, other types of fiber-filled articles to which the present invention applies includes sleeping bags, mattresses, etc. Such variations should be considered within the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. A fiber-filled pillow comprising an air-penetrable pillow casing having an upper and a lower surface; an assemblage of generally co-planar fibers enclosed in said casing, said fibers having a length substantially less than the average thickness of the filled pillow, a majority of said fibers of said assemblage being substantially perpendicular to said surfaces and the fibers adjacent said surfaces being free thereof, whereby a majority of said fibers are parallel to the direction of a force applied by the user of said pillow.

2. A pillow as defined in claim 1 in which said fibers 

1. A fiber-filled pillow comprising an air-penetrable pillow casing having an upper and a lower surface; an assemblage of generally co-planar fibers enclosed in said casing, said fibers having a length substantially less than the average thickness of the filled pillow, a majority of said fibers of said assemblage being substantially perpendicular to said surfaces and the fibers adjacent said surfaces being free thereof, whereby a majority of said fibers are parallel to the direction of a force applied by the user of said pillow.
 2. A pillow as defined in claim 1 in which said fibers are crimped. 